Shifted
by Rylarei
Summary: Lying had always come easy to her, but she never thought she'd have to lie about this. Life sure has a way of making the unlikely happen. A new spin on the Team 7 dynamic. Ino-centric. Ocean Ripples rewrite. "You're like the wind, gentle and soft one moment, then harsh and cutting the next."
1. Chapter 1

_Shifted  
by Rylarei_

**Summary**: Lying had always come easy to her, but she never thought she'd have to lie about _this_. Life sure has a way of making the unlikely happen. A new spin on the Team 7 dynamic. Ino-centric. Ocean Ripples rewrite. _"You're like the wind, gentle and soft one moment, then harsh and cutting the next."_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter One

"Daddy," Ino said, her wide cerulean eyes gazing upon the scroll her father was poring over. "Who are those?"

Yamanaka Inoichi smiled at his child. She was his sunshine, the love of his life. He would do anything to protect her. And he did so the only way he knew how: by making sure she knew what the world was, and what her role in it would be. His wife had always said he was a hard teacher, but he truly believed that the only was to be safe was to be strong enough to protect oneself.

"It's a scroll of all the current active shinobi in Konoha," he said. Hiding things from Ino never got him anywhere. She would always find out one way or another, and he was oh so proud of her.

"Can I look?" she asked. She was so precious. Inoichi nodded, motioning for her to get on his lap.

"But only the genin and most important people for now," he acquiesced. It wouldn't be proper, he thought, to tell a five year old child the identity of all of their shinobi. Her mind was still not fully protected, there was still the risk of someone ransacking her memories, especially as the heiress of a clan like theirs.

"Hm…" she mused. "She looks like me!" she crooned, her chubby hand slapping down onto a picture of Senju Tsunade.

Inoichi smirked. "That's Tsunade-hime, one of the last of the Senju line."

* * *

Ino first met Shikamaru when their fathers were going out on a mission and her mother was too ill to look after her. He was a scrawny kid, gazing lazily at her behind his mother's legs. She grinned at him. He had very sharp eyes that took all of her in, as if he didn't want to miss a single detail. She knew right then that they would be great friends.

"Hi!" she chirped. "I'm Ino."

Nara Yoshino smiled sweetly at her. Ino thought that she looked like the type of woman that rarely smiled, much like her own mother. She nodded, she could work with that. She was used to handling strict, hard-to-please mothers.

"Shikamaru," Yoshino admonished. "You should greet our guest."

Ino turned her piercing gaze to the boy in question. He sighed. "I'm Shikamaru."

She beamed at him. "Nice to meet you, Shika!" Yoshino seemed amused at the nickname, especially when Shikamaru's eyes widened into saucers. "Let's be friends!"

"Get off me!" cried the poor boy. Ino had somehow woven her way through his mother's legs and was currently smothering him in a hug. They had just met, and this girl was already being so familiar! First the nickname, now this?

"But friends hug friends, right?" she asked, her head tilted to the side. He gaped at her before turning to his mother for help. To his surprise, she was laughing at the exchange. Somehow, this little blur of gold had already won over his mother. He knew then, that this would be the start of a very troublesome 'friendship.'

* * *

It happened during one of their break times. Ino was expertly weaving flowers through her hair when she heard Choji's surprised exclamation. She paused, her eyes instantly seeking him out. He was sprawled on the ground, as if he'd been pushed backwards. Her eyes narrowed at the three older boys in front of him. Her cheeks puffed red in her irritation. Her anger was so intense it scared even her. She'd never been this upset before.

"Watch where you're going, fatso," the one in the middle spat.

Ino was literally seeing red as she ran up to them and threw the flowers in her hair, stem first. She smirked as they cried out when the stalks buried themselves in their skin. The big red feeling inside her chest was still burning, urging her to do more to the bullies.

"What the hell?!" the brunette yelled at her.

"You'll get in trouble for this," the other boy growled, nursing his bleeding arm.

"I won't," she said confidently. They stared at her like she was an idiot. She rolled her eyes at them. "I know who you are," she goaded. "You're in Yamanaka-sensei's class!"

"So?" the one that had called Choji fatso said.

"_So_," she grinned at them, her eyes a set of glittering gems. "I'm the Yamanaka heiress," she explained patiently, as if she were talking to a child younger than even her. At that, the boys' eyes widened. Knowing she had thoroughly scared them, Ino crouched next to a tearful Choji. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He sniffled, nodding his head. "Thanks," he mumbled.

She beamed at him. "It's what friends do!"

Ino never realized that another child had been watching the entire exchange, a frown marring his features.

* * *

"Ino!" her mother called. Ino bolted up from the ground. She had been watching the ants carry the sugar she was leaving on the ground. Had her mother found out what she was doing? She gulped as she dragged her feet to the kitchen, where her mother was currently glaring at a letter. "What did you do?" she asked. Ino's brows scrunched up, not quite understanding what was being asked. "The school sent a letter," Yamanaka Mayori explained, her tone clipped. "They want to speak with me about your behavior."

Ino gasped. She was a model student! The best student, even! "It must be a good thing," she said, clearly unsure of herself. "I haven't done anything bad."

Mayori sniffed. "We'll see."

The walk to the Academy was a dreaded one. Ino didn't know why she was being called. She hadn't done anything wrong recently. The only thing interesting that had happened was when she stopped Choji from being bullied. She clenched her fists. Had they decided to tell on her? She kept her head down the entire time as they walked through the halls into Teoki-sensei's office.

"Yamanaka-san!" he greeted. He smiled kindly at her.

The adults were sharing small talk, something that never really interested her. If she was going to talk, she wanted it to be about something interesting, not about how Teoki-sensei's niece was doing. She frowned at her hands. What had she done?

"You must be wondering why I called you here," her sensei said. "Last week, a few boys reported that Ino had thrown flowers at them hard enough to pierce skin." Mayori glanced at her with a little bit of pride at that. "But we've investigated the situation and we've found that Ino was defending a fellow classmate in process of being bullied."

Ino jumped at that. "Yeah!" she exclaimed. "They pushed Choji," she mumbled with a pout.

Teoki-sensei smiled at her. "It's nice that you're loyal to your friends," he started. "But those are older boys and they might retaliate, even if you're a younger girl. You might get seriously hurt."

"Excuse me," her mother snapped. "Are you suggesting that my daughter just let her friend be bullied?" Teoki-sensei blanched at the Yamanaka matron's thunderous expression. "If she does get hurt defending her friend, then she should be proud of herself."

"O-of course, Yamanaka-san," sensei looked so scared. Ino had never seen him this scared before.

"Rather," her mother wasn't finished apparently. "We should all be proud of her for her strength of character. What we should be doing is wondering _how_ bullying being bad enough that a child could end up hurt." Her stare looked like it was burning a hole through the man's skull. He certainly looked like he was melting, anyway.

"Mama," she murmured. Her mother could get carried away sometimes, so she was tasked with making sure the older woman didn't go off on another long rant.

Yamanaka Mayori harrumphed. "I'm reporting this to the council," she said. "To think an Academy teacher has the _gall_ to admonish my child for defending her friend from bullying that said teacher should be _preventing_."

Ino felt bad for Teoki-sensei. He looked like his soul had left his body. She shook her head, her mother really could get carried away.

"Come, Ino!" snapped her mother.

"Coming!" she replied, casting one last pitying look at her sensei.

* * *

Ino was a simple child, she liked fun and hated mean people, especially children. So it came as no surprise when her blood boiled at seeing Ami picking on a scruffy looking pinkette building a sad excuse of a sandcastle.

"What's hidden under those bangs? I bet it's your huge, shiny forehead!" giggled Ami. Ino glared. She really hated stupid, petty children.

"Ami," she called. Said girl and her posse turned to stare at her. "You should leave." She said. Their stares turned incredulous. They didn't budge so she glared harder at them. "I said," she said louder this time. "I think you should leave. Now."

Ami huffed and tossed her hair. "Whatever," she mumbled as she stalked off with her little group. Ino watched them go before turning back to the crouching girl.

"And you!" she squealed at the pinkette who startled. "You need to learn to stand up for yourself!" The meek girl looked up at her, eyes shining with unshed tears. Ino sighed as she crouched and lifted the girl's bangs. "See? It's not even that big. You shouldn't hide it like that or others will tease you more for it." She grinned at the other girl.

"Thank you," the pinkette mumbled.

"I'm Ino by the way. Yamanaka Ino."

"Haruno… Sakura," the therefore named girl introduced herself.

"Well then, Sakura. Stick with me and I'll make you a beautiful blossom worthy of your name!" she exclaimed. "Here, wear this." Ino pulled out her favorite red ribbon from her pocket, tying the girl's bangs back. "See? You look great!"

Sakura stared dumbly at her before nodding and murmuring a soft thank you.

Months passed by as Ino watched Sakura blossom into a wonderful young woman. Gone were the days where said girl would cower after every insult. The girl had finally grown a backbone and obtained a lot of confidence. Although, Ino had to admit, that sometimes that confidence was starting to grate on even her nerves. And she loved confident people. But, she supposed, there were times when confidence became arrogance. Just like when that Sasuke kid would brag about how he was better than everyone and how his _brother _was better than everyone just because they were Uchiha. Talk about annoying. Sakura loved it, though. She hung onto every word he said just because he was good looking. Ugh.

"What's got you in such a bad mood?" Shikamaru asked.

She grinned at him. "Aw, Shika, I didn't know you cared!" she crooned. He gave her a disgusted look, silently asking her if she was stupid. "Heh. It's nothing, just thinking."

"Nothing good ever happen when you're '_just thinking,'_" he grumbled. She chuckled slightly at that.

"Come on, I'm not that bad!" she insisted.

"Yes you are," he glared. "Last time, we ended up getting chased out of the clothes' store because of you."

She blushed. "That was one time!"

"And the time before that, when you got us in trouble with my mother because you _insisted_ we try to invade Naruto's mind."

"Okay, you made your point!" she interrupted. Okay, maybe she had some 'weird' ideas sometimes but they were all in good fun! Who _wouldn't _want to know what was going on in Naruto's head? Maybe they'd even find out why the villagers hated him so much.

Choji arrived, sitting down next to them under the tree. "Chip?" he offered. She smiled at him, he was such a sweetheart. He was like a teddybear. A really fun teddybear! "What you guys talking about?"

"Ino's being troublesome again," Shikamaru squinted at her.

"Am not!" she screeched. Really, now! She really was just thinking. She harrumphed.

"Whatever, woman," Shikamaru said as he cleaned out his ear and returned to his cloud watching. She stared at him weirdly at that. She wasn't a woman yet, not by a long shot! Now, someone like Tsunade-hime, that was a woman! She smiled to herself. She'd definitely become a woman that everyone respected and feared.

She dusted herself as she stood. "Well, I got to go, guys. I promised Daddy I'd meet him after work today!" she called, already running towards the T&I department. They waved her goodbye as she sped off.

She hummed to herself, counting all the redheads she passed by. Redheads were fairly rare in Konoha, so it was a nice thing she used to pass her time and train her observation skills. Daddy had taught her that to be a good ninja, one had to be aware of his or her surroundings all the time. She grinned, she'd be a great ninja in no time!

In her distraction, she bumped into a boy not much older than her. She gulped. Hadn't she just said that a good ninja was always aware of their surroundings? The older boy smiled at her as he helped her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His smile was kind, and he gave off a sort-of princely aura. She blushed. But he looked familiar, as if she'd met him before.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." She grinned wryly at him.

He chuckled at her. "It's alright. Make sure you watch where you're going next time," he advised. She nodded at him.

That was her first encounter with the famed Uchiha Itachi.

* * *

Ino stared at the black haired boys in front of her. She was at Konoha's most famous dango shop with Shikamaru and Choji. She didn't realize her jaw was open until Shikamaru rolled his eyes and snapped it shut with one hand. She glared at him as she rubbed her jaw. Did he have to be so rough?

Who would have thought that the boy she ran into the other day was _the _Uchiha Itachi, prodigious heir to the Uchiha clan. She flushed a deep scarlet, embarrassed beyond belief. Her father had drilled the clans and their important members into her, emphasizing that she had to make a good impression. She never knew when she'd need a favor or two down the line, after all.

Their trio sat at the bar near the server. Ino kept her head down the entire time, trying to keep him from noticing her. Talk about embarrassing! How could she face the Uchiha heir? She sneaked a glance at him. He and his brother seemed engrossed in their food. In fact she'd never seen someone other than Naruto who looked that delighted to eat something. She shook her head, even prodigies had weird habits.

She looked up as Shikamaru nudged her. He sent her a questioning look as he glanced at the Uchiha brothers. She smiled at him. "It's nothing," she said. He shrugged, likely thinking it was too troublesome to ask for more. That made her smile bigger. Shikamaru, while lazy, was a good friend. He noticed things people normally wouldn't. He even noticed things that her own father didn't. He really wasn't so bad.

"Are you guys ready to start clan training?" Choji asked. Ino turned towards him. Clan training? But they weren't supposed to start until after graduation, right?

Shikamaru glanced sideways at her. "When are you starting?" he asked Choji.

"Tomorrow!" said the other boy proudly. Ino frowned. Why was Choji allowed to start on his clan training already? This was so unfair. She huffed as she tuned out the conversation. She looked around the dainty shop, looking for something to distract her.

The place was packed, as expected of the most famous dango shop. The owner was friends with Choji's mother, so they always got a seat ahead of everyone else. Call it privilege or whatever, Ino didn't care. You had to make use of what you were given, or you'd never achieve anything in life. There were several ninja here, most of whom looked to be Chuunins. Some of them noticed her gaze and raised a questioning brow. She replied with a cheeky grin to each one before moving on, getting a few chuckles and shaken heads.

Finally, her eyes landed on the Uchiha siblings. They really made quite a sight. Honestly, you'd think Itachi hadn't eaten in weeks with the way he was eyeing those dango. She hummed. Maybe he wasn't normally allowed to eat sweets? She tilted her head as she studied him. He was young and very innocent looking. You wouldn't think that a gentle child like him could be your end. As if on cue, he seemed to notice her staring as he froze and raised his head to stare back at her.

Their staring contest was broken when Choji's father, Chouza, came in looking for them. "There you kids are! Your mothers are looking for you," he said. He waved to a few people in the shop before ushering them out. "Let's go now, before they have our heads." He paid the shopkeeper then carried them all on his shoulders, with Ino in the middle. She clutched his hair as she prepared for him to take off.

She cast one last look over her shoulder at Uchiha Itachi. Said boy smiled and waved at her. If Chouza hadn't taken off at that exact moment, she'd have noticed Itachi's eyes turn red as she returned his wave.

* * *

All things considered, it was a wonderful day. The sun was pleasant, and the winds were cool and refreshing. Her parents weren't fighting that morning, and even Shikamaru seemed to be in a chipper mood. But there was only one problem, and it was standing right in front of her with an arm outstretched.

Sakura's eyes were steely with resolve as she held out Ino's favorite red ribbon that she had given the girl all those years ago. It was Ino's turn to stare dumbly this time, not quite processing what was happening. _What _did her _best friend _just say?

"I'm sorry," she said. "Could you repeat that?"

Sakura sighed. "I said we're done. We're rivals now!" Ino felt her ire rising. She got _that_. But what she didn't get was the fact that Sakura was doing this for something as stupid as a _stupid, stupid _boy! Who cared about Sasuke if it meant she'd lose her best friend? No boy was worth that!

Ino's mouth gaped like a fish out of water. She couldn't speak, hell she could barely even believe Sakura would call off their friendship over a mere boy. In her anger, she flushed as she shouted, "Fine! Whatever! I don't care! Good luck getting him to even notice you!" Sakura shook her head and stalked off the hill.

Ino glared at the tree in front of her. What the hell had just happened? _What the hell had just happened?_ She collapsed onto her knees, still in shock. Who would've thought that the friendship that she treasured so much would break down over _Sasuke_? She couldn't help it as tears freely ran down her cheeks. Her heart that so easily trusted and loved all her friends broke into pieces. How could this happen to her?

"I'll show you," she whispered to the red ribbon in her hand. "You want a rival? I'll give you one, billboard brow."

That was the day that innocent Ino, who loved everything and everyone (except mean people), sealed her heart off.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hello everyone! This is a rewrite of Ocean's Ripple because frankly, I hated how I wrote it. It was too chopped up (yes, even more than this one!) and confusing. I didn't like how I portrayed Ino, and the pacing is way too slow now that I read back on it. Nevertheless, I'll be leaving it up for you guys. And no, this won't be an exact rewrite. I'll be changing a few things as I build this story's world up, especially Ino's relationships with people.


	2. Chapter 2

_Shifted  
by Rylarei_

**Summary**: Lying had always come easy to her, but she never thought she'd have to lie about _this_. Life sure has a way of making the unlikely happen. A new spin on the Team 7 dynamic. Ino-centric. Ocean Ripples rewrite. _"You're like the wind, gentle and soft one moment, then harsh and cutting the next."_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter Two

The sun shone brightly that morning, bringing with it the sweet song of birds. Ino yawned as she stretched. Downstairs, she could already hear her parents arguing. It was always about her, although she never knew why. She'd learned to tune them out long ago. Daddy would spoil her, and Mother would teach her womanly things with a strictness that directly countered her father's attempts at making her into a spoilt little brat. All in all, she didn't really mind. She loved both her parents and she knew they loved each other as well as her, so she ignored it. She cringed as she heard something crash downstairs. Well, she _mostly_ ignored it. She sighed.

This was her last month as an Academy student. She stared at herself in the mirror. Her hands were unblemished, not even a single callous on her fingers. Her hair was long and silky, looking like molten gold when she stepped into the sun. Her figure, she admitted, was scrawny and not at all womanly. But she would grow in time. She was just a late bloomer!

Although others had ridiculed her for her appearance, saying it wasn't right for a ninja to be 'pretty,' she dismissed them. Tsunade-hime was attractive, and she was a revered kunoichi! Besides, if their kunoichi classes taught her anything, it was that her looks made it easier for her to blend into a civilian crowd. Who would think that a shallow looking girl like her could easily kill a grown man? She frowned, staring at a blemish on her forehead. Really? She'd have to cover that up later. She had to look good if she wanted to stay on top of the foodchain in the Academy. She sighed, such was her life now.

Ino quickly got ready and headed downstairs, where her parents were still fighting. She kissed her father on the cheek as she skipped out of the house, grabbing a piece of toast on the way out. "Ino!" her mother shouted after her. She was likely mad about her not staying for breakfast. Whatever, she'd get over it. Who'd want to sit with a bickering couple at seven in the morning?

Her skipping slowed to a light jog as she reached Sakura's street. All these years and she still hadn't gotten over the girl's betrayal. She should really find a new route to school. She shrugged, there was only a month left, anyway.

"What are you doing here?!" an annoying voice screeched. Ino felt her eye twitch. Wow, maybe she should've stayed to eat breakfast, it would probably be better than hearing Sakura yell obscenities at her. What the hell was the girl's problem anyway? Ino always walked this route, even when they were still best friends. Deciding that it was too much trouble to get into a catfight now, Ino stayed quiet, pulling ahead of the other girl.

Sakura being Sakura, thought it was a competition and so glared as she quickly tried to breeze past her. Ino rolled her eyes. Really? The pinkette could be really petty at times. Said pinkette then decided to push her as she ran full speed towards the Academy. Okay, _really?_ Forget what she said. Sakura was petty. Period.

Ino growled as they reached Iruka-sensei's class. She was getting tired of this whole rivalry thing. Maybe she should just call it off? But then all those years of raining on Sakura's thunder would be for nothing. She sighed. _One more month_, she thought. That was it. After that, they'd have their ninja careers to focus on. Maybe Sakura would mature after that? She snorted. Unlikely.

Ino had lost control of the girls in their year to Sakura after their falling out. Don't ask her how, the pink-haired girl probably spun some sob story that made her seem like a villain or something. Not that it mattered to her. She was smarter, stronger, and generally better than the other girl at everything that mattered anyway. Besides, she still had Shikamaru and Choji. They'd never abandon or betray her. _Unlike someone_. Call her bitter, but she had the right to be.

"What are you brooding about now?" came Shikamaru's exasperated voice. She blinked sheepishly at him. Was she really that easy to read? He raised a brow at her. "So?"

"Nothing, just thinking about how this is our last month at the Academy," she bluffed.

"We'll finally get to be real ninja," Choji interjected.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at them. "What's so great about being a ninja, anyway?" He gave her a look that told her he clearly didn't believe her. She smiled brightly at him, trying to convince her that she was fine.

"Alright class," Iruka-sensei called. Everyone turned their attention to him. "Partner up, we're going to be doing class exercises based off of yesterday's lessons today."

Ino groaned. She hated pairwork. Shika and Choji would always pair up so she was stuck trying to look for some poor soul who had no partner. And usually, that was either Sasuke or Naruto. Naruto wasn't so bad, he listened to her instructions whenever they paired up, but he was generally clueless about everything since he didn't go to class much. She didn't know how he was going to graduate to be honest. But _Sasuke_, believe it or not, was the worst partner ever. He always hogged the exercises and would barely give her enough time to put in her own input. Who did he think he was? Seriously, what did Sakura see in this jerk?

Unluckily for her, it seemed like Naruto and Hinata had somehow gotten paired so she was stuck with the broody Uchiha this time. Ugh. "Hi, Sasuke," she said cheerily. "Guess we're partners again, huh?" All she got was a grunt in response. She rolled her eyes at him. She thought that maybe after all the years they'd been classmates and partners, he'd be able to say more than just a small 'hn' at her, but sadly it seemed like it would never happen.

Sasuke was already answering the exercises when she sat down and peered at the paper. It was basic stuff, just questions about what they should do given a certain scenario. But Iruka-sensei liked to incorporate all their lessons into their exercises so the answers wouldn't be simple 'I'll hide in the alleyway in a corner until the enemy nin pass' but more like 'I'll henge into a dumpster and lay traps while I wait for the enemy nin to either discover me or pass by me.'

There was a question about what they would do if all they had was a needle and thread and they were caught as a spy in enemy territory. She frowned at Sasuke's obvious answer of using jutsu to dispose of the enemy nin.

"You could use the needle like a senbon and hit him in his neck to induce a blackout. Then you could arrange the room to make it look like he was drunk and had taken his anger out on you, effectively faking your death. Don't you think that would be something more fitting for an espionage mission?" she said, and he looked up at her in surprise. He narrowed his eyes at the exercise sheet, contemplating her answer before sighing and letting her add it below his. She grinned triumphantly. This was only the sixth time he'd let her put in her answers on the sheet. Usually he'd acknowledge she'd spoken and then dismiss her as if her answers bothered him. Sure, she was unconventional, but that was her strength! Who said you weren't allowed to henge yourself into money to fool bandits?

He stood up and submitted their answer sheet. "Did you let Ino-chan put her answers in this time, Sasuke-kun?" Iruka-sensei chuckled. He smiled her above the sheet. "You guys can go."

"Great!" she exclaimed as she eyed Sakura. "I get Sasuke-kun all to myself now." Sasuke shot her a glare at that.

Once they reached the hall outside, she dropped her cheery disposition. Sasuke eyed her warily. "Say, Sasuke," she started. "Do you want to train with me?" He narrowed his eyes at her again. They stood in silence for a while as they stared at one another. It was getting to the point of being awkward before he grunted and motioned for her to lead on. She grinned. "Yay!" she squealed.

They headed towards Training Field Two, her favorite spot since it had a lake next to it. Something about the watery depths always seemed calming to her.

"Spar?" she offered. He raised a brow at her before nodding. She grinned. "No weapons, no jutsu. Just plain taijutsu," she laid out the rules as she stretched. She watched him do his own stretching. His stretched seemed to focus a lot more on his legs, while she made sure to stretch to keep her body flexible.

"You say when," he said softly. His voice had a nice ring to it, if Ino had to liken it to something, she'd say it would be like honey. She nodded in response. She settled into a low stance, one that allowed for her to bend and weave, yet run at a moment's notice.

"Begin!"

Sasuke rushed her, intent on using his superior speed then take her out with force. She smiled. Sure, he was faster, but she was _crafty_. She'd never let him take her down easily. So when he tried for a low sweep, she back-flipped out of the way, making sure to hit him in the face with her long ponytail. Suppressing a giggle at his incredulous expression, she let off a low kick of her own. If he thought she'd be easy, he had another thing coming for him.

The sun bore on them as the afternoon progressed. Soon enough, the two teens were panting from the sparring session. "Enough," Ino groaned. It was clear to her why Sasuke was named the Rookie of the Year. He was leagues ahead of their class. "You fight pretty well," she complimented.

He sent her a sidelong glance as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "You're not so bad yourself," he admitted begrudgingly. She grinned. Of course she wasn't! While he was Rookie of the Year, she was still Kunoichi of the Year. That wasn't just a title, you know!

"Thanks for this," she said. "I really appreciate it. Shika's too lazy to spar with me and Choji doesn't want to hit me."

He stared at her for a bit before shrugging. "We could do it again," he offered. She blinked owlishly at him. Had _Sasuke_ actually offered to spend time with her? "There aren't many people who can make me work at winning," he explained.

She grinned. "Sure!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hi guys, hope you like this chapter. We're finally getting to see some SasuIno. Please review. Did I do the characters justice? Is it too OOC? Let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

_Shifted  
by Rylarei_

**Summary**: Lying had always come easy to her, but she never thought she'd have to lie about _this_. Life sure has a way of making the unlikely happen. A new spin on the Team 7 dynamic. Ino-centric. Ocean Ripples rewrite. _"You're like the wind, gentle and soft one moment, then harsh and cutting the next."_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

xxx

Chapter Three

Ino grunted as she fought off the kunai aiming for her throat. There was no way she was going to hold it off for long, not with an opponent who was obviously stronger than her. Relaxing her wrist, she spun of the way, using her momentum to smack the butt of her kunai on her opponent's temple.

Sasuke stumbled before righting himself, glaring at the opposing blonde. Ino grinned cheekily at him. The boy had made good on his promise and they started meeting at the same training field after class let out everyday. He had yet to pull off a decisive victory on her, as she kept wiling her way out of his hold. It was already two weeks after their first spar, and today was the first time they allowed weapons. Of course, being Ino, she banned permanent injuries. Scars were still possible ways to identify someone after all.

"Why won't you just," he sent off a jab. "Sit." he ground his teeth, swinging his arm as she dodged out of the way of his strikes. "Still!" he grunted. She was getting on his nerves, she knew, but it was so much fun getting a rise out of him.

"I wouldn't be a very good ninja if I just let you hit me," she teased. He rolled his eyes at her. She laughed. She was really starting to enjoy spending time with him, something she never thought she'd say. Ever. It turned out that he wasn't such a stick in the mud if you impressed him enough. He was just socially…_stunted_, she supposed. It was understandable though, with what happened to him. You didn't go through an ordeal like that and come out unscathed. Things like that left huge marks, no matter how invisible.

She faltered when she sensed her father approaching. "Wait," she said. Sasuke stopped, turning inquisitive eyes to her. She frowned. "My dad's coming," she explained. He nodded and started doing his post-spar stretches. She pouted. And today was supposed to be fun, too. Oh well.

"Hi, princess," Yamanaka Inoichi greeted. She smiled brightly at him.

"Hi, Daddy!" she chirped. "Did you need something?"

Inoichi eyed the younger boy beside Ino. "Your mother's calling you," he said with a smile. He started walking back to their house at a leisurely pace, making sure she could catch up to him.

She turned towards Sasuke. "Sorry about that, see you tomorrow!" she said as she jogged to catch up to her father. Sasuke nodded in response, eyes distracted. She tilted her head in curiosity at that but shrugged it away nonetheless. They weren't close enough to warrant her questions anyway.

"What does Mama want?" she asked her oddly silent father.

He gave her an indulgent smile. "You'll see soon enough," he said.

The walk home was oddly quiet, almost solemn. She snuck a glance at her father. His silence was seriously making her nervous. Was her mother mad? She pouted at the blank expression on her father. She never could read him.

"She's in the garden," Inoichi urged. "Don't want to keep her waiting."

Ino nodded as she trotted off to the backyard, her mother's domain if anything. This was where they spent most of their time together. "Mama?" she called.

"Over here," came the reply. The Yamanaka matriarch was sitting on a stone bench overlooking a small fountain in the middle of the garden. She indicated the seat next to her. "Sit."

"What did you need me for?" Ino asked.

Mayori gave her a sideward glance. "You're going to be a kunoichi soon," she said. Ino nodded, trying her hardest to be patient with her mother. "Your father will start teaching you the more advanced Yamanaka clan techniques now. As will I."

Ino blinked up at her. Her mother usually didn't want anything to do with the Yamanaka techniques. "What will you be teaching me?"

Mayori stood and bent over one of her many wolf's banes. Plucking one out, something that caused Ino to gasp in disbelief, the elder Yamanaka began channeling her chakra into the plant. Ino gaped. Since when could her mother use chakra? In the blink of an eye, Mayori threw the flower at her, stem first. Ino's eyes widened as she hurriedly dodged out of the way. Wolf's bane was poisonous, there was no way she was getting hit by _that_.

"The Yamanaka are known for their mind techniques, that's true," her mother said, sharp blue eyes scrutinizing her. "But we Yamanaka women are known for more than that."

"Our ikebana?" Ino asked.

Mayori gave her a small smile. "Yes, though not in the form we use it now," she said. Her eyes had a faraway look to it. "Back when we were still at war, the Yamanaka were renowned for their assassination skills. Skills that allowed them to kill whoever they wanted without ever having to be in contact with their target, let alone ever be in the same _room_ as them."

Ino's mind soared at that. She stole a look at the flower that was still embedded in on of the trees behind her. Did it have something to do with potions? Mayori stared patiently at her, unmoving. "Teach me," she breathed.

xxx

Ino tapped her finger on the desk impatiently. She already knew she would be assigned to a team with Shika and Choji so could Iruka-sensei get on with it already? She sighed as she looked down at her rival in disdain. Sakura, who was the second best amongst the females would most likely be paired off with Sasuke. Ugh. She could already imagine how insufferable the girl would be.

"Team Seven will be: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka-sensei said. This was it, Sakura would get called and ruin every other girls' dreams. "And Yamanaka Ino." Ino froze. What? What the hell? What about Ino-Shika-Cho? She gaped at Iruka-sensei before the wails from the female population roused her from her stupor. A slow, devious grin rose on her face as she launched herself at the Uchiha.

"I just knew we were destined to be together, Sasuke," she crooned. Oh, this was priceless.

"Get off of Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!" came Sakura's incessant screech. Ino gave her an unimpressed glance.

"You're just jealous that I'm better than you," she taunted.

"Enough," Iruka-sensei shouted. "MOVING ON, Team eight consists of Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuga Hinata. Team nine are still in rotation so we'll move on to team ten which are Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Choji, and Haruno Sakura. And that concludes the teams. Wait here for your jonin instructors." With that, Iruka-sensei rolled up his scroll and left the classroom.

"I'm stuck with a lazy ass and a glutton," Sakura lamented. Ino rolled her eyes at the theatrics. The girl better not treat her best friends like trash, or else she'd have another thing coming.

"Get off of me," Sasuke growled. Ino jumped away. She hadn't realized she was still hanging onto him like a complete harlot. That was embarrassing. She flushed as she stuck her tongue out. Sasuke rolled his eyes at her. "Whatever."

The three of them sat apart while waiting for their new sensei. She sighed. She wondered who it would be. Hopefully it was someone really strong and easy to talk to. She started easy conversation with Choji about random things until his team got called and it was just hers left. Her eye twitched at that. What was taking their sensei so long? She pouted.

She almost jumped when a silver haired man walked into the classroom, setting off Naruto's prank. Ino's eyes widened. Their sensei was Hatake Kakashi? She had to admit; she felt a little giddy to be learning from someone so renowned.

"My first impressions of you: I don't like you," he said tonelessly. "Meet me at the rooftop in five."

Ino frowned as he disappeared in a flurry of leaves. "Let's go," she said to a still celebrating Naruto as she dragged him up the stairs. Seriously, what kind of jonin falls for a trick like that? She rolled her eyes at Naruto's gloating.

"Took you long enough," Kakashi said as he eyed their group. "Sit. Introduce yourselves." Ino stared at him, clearly unimpressed. He sighed. "Alright, I'll go first. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm a jonin, I have many likes and dislikes, my hobbies are things you're not allowed to know, and my goals are..." He trailed off, seeming like he was reminiscing about something. "Anyway, why don't you go first." He pointed at her.

Ino narrowed her eyes at him. "My name is Yamanaka Ino, a new genin," she said. "And that's all I'm telling you because you're currently untrustworthy." She sniffed. Why should she tell him anything if he didn't do the same?

To her surprise, Kakashi gave her a weird eye smile. "Good. Never give away personal information to a person you've just met." It made her feel somewhat proud that she'd gotten something right in the first few minutes of their meeting. "And you two?" He asked as he turned to her male teammates.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of Konoha!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi sweatdropped at that.

Sasuke merely grunted. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Good. Meet me at training ground three tomorrow at 7 AM. Don't be late." he said. He seemed to think a bit before he added, "And don't eat breakfast if you don't want to puke it all out afterwards."

Ino sighed as he shunshined away again. She could tell this was going to be the start of a tiring career as a genin.

xxx

The next morning, Ino decided to pack a couple of bentos for her team. She sighed as she stared forlornly at the clock. She'd had to wake up earlier than usual but it was worth it. She really wanted to get along with her team, and the fastest way she knew how was to offer them food. Hey, it worked with Shika and Choji, it would probably work with Sasuke and Naruto. Now that she thought about it, she'd definitely have to make Naruto eat things other than that stupid ramen of his. Sure, Teuchi's ramen was really good but that didn't mean she would eat it for every meal of every day. That was just asking for health problems.

She hummed as she popped a cherry tomato in her mouth. She knew Kakashi-sensei didn't want them to eat breakfast, but there was no way she wouldn't at least eat something light before going out. There was careless, then there was just stupidity. Everybody knew breakfast was the most important meal of the day. So while she was technically going against orders, she also _technically_ wasn't. A few tomatoes weren't _breakfast_, after all. Just a small snack. She smiled at her own ingenious.

As she finished the last of the bentos, she made a quick mental check of her things, making sure she didn't forget anything. It wouldn't do to be unprepared should their sensei ask them to train today. She rifled through her hip pouch with a frown. Her standard tools were there, but she would be hard-pressed to fit any sort of flora in as well. She'd have to think of alternate storage methods or her flowers would be useless by the time she got them out of the pouch. She sighed, maybe her mother would have some ideas?

She walked leisurely to the designated meeting point. On the way, she greeted a few of the shopkeepers just opening up their businesses for the day. It felt nice to be awake at this time. The air was fresh and cool, with a hint of the fog from the night before. She was the first one in the training field. She shrugged, it wasn't surprising. She was thirty minutes early after all. Deciding to get some early exercise in, she dropped the bentos beside a tree and started on light stretches.

Sasuke arrived a few minutes into her katas. He gave her an appraising look. She rolled her eyes at him. She wasn't doing this to impress the broody boy. She kept half an eye on him as he started his own stretches and warmups. She wondered at how different even their stretching techniques were. Were the boys taught differently in the academy? She hummed in thought, she'd never thought about that.

Naruto soon came crashing into the field with his trademark sunshine disposition. She sighed. She was getting tired just watching him bounce around while he sat staring at them.

"Want to join?" she asked. He scrunched up his nose, an act that reminded her of children who were confronted with a hated vegetable.

"No, thanks!" he chirped. She shrugged and turned away from him. "Wanna spar?" he asked Sasuke. Said Uchiha gave him a disbelieving glare. She raised a brow at them.

"You should conserve your energy," she admonished. "I bet you guys didn't eat a thing for breakfast."

"We weren't supposed to," Naruto whined at her.

"Yes, but everyone knows it's not good to not eat _anything_ for breakfast," she sighed at his blank look. "You could've had an energy bar or something before coming. You're going to need it in case we have to do some training before we can eat. I bet Sasuke at least ate _something. R_ight, Sasuke?"

She gaped in disbelief when Sasuke looked away with a light blush on his cheeks. Seriously? Even _the _Uchiha Sasuke was stupid enough to not eat anything just because their sensei said so? Oh, she was going to lose it. With a long suffering sigh, she unpacked two of the bentos.

"Here, have a few tomatoes," she said.

Naruto pouted at her. "Vegetables? I hate vegetables!"

She glared at him, hand on her hip. "You're going to eat this whether you like it or not. I went to the trouble of waking up early to prepare all of these for you guys," she said. She gave him a pout of her own. "You wouldn't want my efforts to go to waste, would you? Besides, tomatoes are fruits not vegetables."

Naruto blanched as he snatched up the offered fruit. She gave him a winning smile. She turned to Sasuke, who was surprisingly finished with his tomatoes. She hummed, he must have really liked them then.

"Looks like my cute little genin are quite lively in the morning," a deep voice behind her said.

She whirled around but couldn't find where the voice had come from, so she turned her eyes up and searched for him in the trees. What the hell? Was this some sort of test? She felt Sasuke tense up beside her. So even he couldn't find their sensei, huh? She frowned as she gathered up her chakra. She was still new to the whole sensing thing so it took her a considerable amount of effort to look for or even sense unfamiliar people.

But wait, why was she sensing him near the poles when there clearly wasn't anyone there. There was just a small alarm clock that none of them had paid attention to, thinking it was left there by someone from before. She cocked her head at it. Would anyone actually forget something like that in a training field? Probably not. She signaled Sasuke and he gave her a nod.

They casually walked towards the training posts as Ino tried to confirm the chakra signature. She kept up a steady stream of conversation with both the boys, though all Sasuke would reply were grunts. If they were wrong, they'd destroy someone's alarm clock. If they were right, they'd passed whatever test their sensei was giving them.

In a flash, Sasuke sent a kunai flying at the clock. A puff of smoke appeared, revealing their silver-haired sensei. He gave them all that weird eye smile again as Naruto spluttered at his sudden appearance.

"That was pretty impressive," he said. "How did you know I was there?"

Sasuke gave her a questioning look. "I was able to sense that there was a chakra signature there even though there was no one around, so I signaled Sasuke and he tested it by throwing a kunai."

"Good to see that you trust each other enough for that," Kakashi said. Ino blushed at the praise. "What would you have done if that was someone's special clock?"

"I aimed so it would only graze it," Sasuke said.

Kakashi smiled. "Good job, team. You're much better than I thought you would be," he hummed. He turned to Naruto who was bouncing around looking constipated. "Yes, Naruto?"

"How did Ino-chan and Sasuke-kun know you were there?" he asked.

"It's a technique that lets someone sense someone else's chakra," Kakashi explained. Naruto's face scrunched up; he clearly didn't understand.

"So it's like a super jutsu that lets you know where people are?" he asked.

Kakashi gave him an indulgent smile. "Let's go with that." Kakashi looked at their expectant faces solemnly. "I'm afraid I have some bad news however," he said. "Only two of you will be able to continue on to become genin. One of you will be sent back to the academy."

Ino's world seemingly froze. What?

xxx

**Author's Note:**

This took a bit longer than I thought it would. I'm still trying to strike a balance between giving more depth and believability to the characters whilst not lingering too long on any one scene. I've also decided to change up the way I do breaks, since Word and FFnet don't really cooperate with each other when it comes to horizontal line breaks.


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